<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Globaliser:
Tests have shown that if you increase the pitch at the exit, to make the passage to the door wider, you increase the rate of flow until a certain point. From there onwards, the wider that passage is the slower people get out, because of crowding and jamming issues. The path between the seat rows helps to ensure an orderly evacuation.
If you just removed the row of seats at the exit, this suggests that you would probably hinder rather than help any evacuation.</font>
Semi-on-topic: Did anyone happen to see this month's Wired magazine? In it was an article about how to design large rooms (as in a nightclub or ballroom) and exits such that people can actually escape in an emergency.
One of the scenarios illustrated a concept similar to what you describe, Globaliser. A well-placed column near a doorway can actually help move people along because it breaks up herds into a single line. I guess if you removed an entire row on an aircraft, you'd no longer have a single line filing out between seats, but instead would have a mini-herd trying to squeeze through the door.